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Jasper and Shelby's birthdays are 3 weeks apart, so we totally take advantage of that and can get away with only throwing one birthday party per year (can I get some high fives from the parents in the audience?). 
This year's theme was Daniel Tiger, and as with all parts of my life, I tried to be frugal with the party planning. This Daniel Tiger Air Walker Balloon was the statement piece of the party. You can get them on Amazon, but I really lucked out when I found one in a clearance bin at Party City for 50% off.
All I had to do was take it into the store on the day of the party with my purchase receipt, and they filled it for free. If you have to choose a location for your party, check out the event venues in Phoenix for availability, they a great option for parties and business events.
We took a few quick photos before everyone arrived. The kids were so excited they were about to come out of their skin.
I made simple vanilla and chocolate cupcakes from scratch using cupcake papers that I found at Walmart. The papers weren't explicitly Daniel Tiger, but the colors matched perfectly. In the future when using papers like this with chocolate cupcakes, I'll double up on them so the dark color doesn't bleed through so much.
I've had that clear cupcake stand for years, and I bought the little paper fans from Party City. I looked up images of Daniel Tiger characters online, printed them out, and taped them on. Done! So much easier than a cake, and soo much less expensive.
Baby Margaret is just the cutest.
Pinterest gave me lots of ideas for theming the party food. Fudge Stripe Cookies = Tiger Stripe Cookies. The tablecloth came from Amazon and was one of the very few licensed decor items that I purchased.
The party punch I made was a classic recipe that I remember from my childhood. A can of orange juice concentrate (prepared as directed), 46oz can of chilled 100% pineapple juice, a 2-liter of Sprite, and scoops of orange sherbet floating on top.
I kept my menu totally simple this year with a variety of chips and munchies with themed labels and hot dogs with chili and other toppings ("Daniel Dogs")
And I had to add something a little healthy, so I picked up a competitively priced veggie tray from Costco that had an included dip, and then added some plain hummus on the side.
The rest of the decor was made up of streamers and balloons from Walmart, as well as a 97-cent banner for the fireplace. You don't have to spend a ton of money to create a totally cute party!
Gremlins, both of them.
I really took advantage of free printables available online to create some extra little touches around the house. Some paper streamers taped to the Daniel Tiger Logo was all I needed for my front door.
And these little quote signs were a big hit.
I put them everywhere!
He wanted to eat those cupcakes sooooo bad lol.
While waiting for the rest of the guests to arrive, they amused themselves by punching some balloons around the living room.
After everyone had some nibbles, it was time to sing and blow out the candles! We did manage to fit 5 candles onto Jasper's little cupcake, haha.
Shelby picked vanilla and Jasper, of course, picked chocolate! We also served neapolitan ice cream (I bought the big Party Bucket ice cream from Kroger)
Then it was present time! They have so many generous family and friends that love and spoil them.
Another stuffed unicorn to add to her collection!
Our friends hit it out of the park with this LEGO CiTY camper set! I mean, how perfect is this?!? (the link will take you to the Amazon listing but you can also find it at Costco!)
He's been begging for a real bike for months, and we debated on getting it for him for his birthday or waiting for Christmas. But then we realized he'd get more outdoor playtime with it before it starts getting too cold if we gave it to him earlier, so it became his big surprise at the party! Shelby has now inherited his really nice Schwinn tricycle - we just replaced the streamers with sparkly purple and silver ones so it looks like her own!
Another party in the books! Tomorrow morning I will wake up, officially, as the mother of a 5 year-old. Shelby's actual birthday is not for a few more weeks, but in her little brain she's already turned 3, so we'll just go with that.
Pin this post to your party boards and share with your friends if you liked it, please and thank you!!
This is the cutest! I love the little signs with sayings from the show and that balloon is grr-riffic lol. Thanks for sharing!